Wati sets her target

Pushpa Wati, right, with umpires from some of the other participating countries at the World Veterans Table Tennis Championship in Auckland, New Zealand last week. Picture: SUPPLIED

THE only two qualified table tennis umpires in the country are targeting to officiate in more international events.

Pushpa Wati and Shri Sharma just returned from the World Veterans Table Tennis Championship in Auckland, New Zealand that ended on May 19.

The two are among a handful of qualified umpires in the South Pacific and relish every opportunity they get to fly Fiji's flag.

Wati said it was an achievement for them to be selected to umpire some of the finals at the world event.

"A total of 57 countries participated in this event with more than a thousand players ranging from ages 40 to over 85 who competed in various age groups on 61 competition tables at the Trusts Arena," she said.

"It was a really good cultural experience because there were 57 different cultures at one place and some of those countries had not even heard of Fiji and we were there promoting our country."

Wati, who was one of the nominees for Official of the Year at the 2013 Fiji Sports Awards, said the opportunity to officiate with umpires from other countries was a privilege to her and she was willing to do it again.

"We just sat our umpiring exams which were very difficult and we would like to fly Fiji's flag at other international events."